


Stuck In My Head- A Reggie x OC

by We_have_no_bodies



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:21:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28153785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/We_have_no_bodies/pseuds/We_have_no_bodies
Summary: Bella and Reggie have been next-door neighbors for years. So, when Sunset Curve's rhythm guitarist gets sick and they need a momentary replacement for him, Reggie automatically thinks of her for the job. What will this lead to? Find out by reading Stuck In My Head :)
Relationships: Alex/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms) & Original Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. The Favor (1)

"Hey, Bella."

I turn my head, finding myself face-to-face with Reginald Peters. He's looking down at me, with a small smile plastered on his face and his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. 

"To what do I owe this displeasure?" I implore, licking my lips.

"I... I need a favor." He answers, taking one hand out of his pocket to run his fingers through his hair. Most people think he does it on purpose, but I've come to learn it's really just one of his nervous ticks. I wonder what's making him nervous. 

"What kind of favor?" I reply, closing my locker. 

"Well, um, you know that band I'm in?" 

"Sunset Curve. Yes, I'm familiar." I say, looking at the flyers all over the walls, advertising their next gig. They'll likely be taken down by the end of the day, but that doesn't mean they don't do their job. 

"So, uh, our rhythm guitarist sort of got sick. So, now we've got an empty spot we need to fill... So, since I know you play, I thought maybe you'd be down?" He explains, biting his lip. Another nervous tick. 

"You want me to play in your band?" I question, raising my eyebrows. 

"Yes."

I stare at him, contemplating. I've always loved music, but I've never really liked the idea of performing in front of a huge crowd. Considering how popular Sunset Curve was starting to get, these would be super huge shoes to fill. 

"I-I don't know." I admit, picking up my backpack from the ground beneath my locker. He takes that as me getting ready to leave, so stops me. 

"Wait."

"I'm not going anywhere, Reggie." I say, looking up at him and down to his hand placed around my waist. 

"S-sorry." He apologizes, moving his hand back into his pocket. "It's just... The guys put me in charge of finding Bobby's replacement, for some reason, and I was hoping I'd just get a yes." 

"Yeah, but this is kind of a big ask. I'll need time to think it over, if that's okay with you?" I respond, and he nods. "Okay. Well, I'll see you tomorrow." 

"See ya."

* * *

"Reggie Peters asked you to join Sunset Curve and you said you'd think about it?"

"Okay, one, I wouldn't be joining it. I'd be replacing Bobby as rhythm guitarist, until he gets better. And, two, you're acting like Reggie is some kind of god. He's just like me and you. A human being, who merely asked an old friend of his for a favor. A big favor, but a favor, nonetheless." I tell my best friend, Cindy, as she drives us to school. 

"I still can't believe you two grew up together." She comments, shaking her head. 

"We didn't grow up together. His family just moved into my neighborhood, back in seventh grade." I correct her, rolling my eyes. 

"Still, I'd kill to live in the same neighborhood as a Sunset Curve member." She replies, and I scrunch up my nose in disgust. 

"Okay. I'm done. Can we listen to the radio, please?" I say, reaching for it. She does nothing to stop me, so I turn it on and we spend the rest of the car ride listening to it. 

"Bye. Love you!" I call out to her, as I walk towards my locker. I get a "love you too," and she blows a kiss, walking in the opposite direction. I find myself humming one of the songs that was playing on the radio, as I open my locker and grab my books. 

"You sound really good."

I jump, nearly dropping everything I'm holding, as Reggie makes his presence known. "God! What was that for?" I question, glaring at him. 

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you..." He trails off, lips forming a thin line. 

"I totally believe that." I scoff, closing my locker. 

"Anyways, I came here to-" He starts to say, but I cut him off. 

"Ask if I thought about your offer?" I finish for him, placing one hand on my hip. Hesitantly, he nods. "Reggie, it hasn't even been twenty four hours. I still need time."

"See, the issue is we don't really have time." He blurts out, biting his lip. 

"Why's that?"

"Because our performance is this Friday night." He confesses, running his fingers through his hair. I look over at one of the new flyers they put up and verify the date. Evidently, they didn't do their job yesterday. For me, at least. 

"And when were you planning on telling me this?" I question, wide-eyed. 

"Well, I mean, I just did. That's something, right?" He replies, chuckling, awkwardly. 

"Fine...Then, I guess, I'll make my decision by the end of the day." I tell him, sighing. 

"Really? Thank you. Thank you so much." He rambles, as I look at him, questionably. 

"Why are you thanking me? I just said I'd give you _an_ answer."

"Still. This is an improvement." He says, nodding. Shrugging, I start the walk to my first class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was pretty short, but I guess it's more of an introduction to the story type of a 1st chapter so hopefully the future chapters will be a lot longer and i hope you enjoyed :) I'm going to try to update every Friday.
> 
> Also, I'd be willing to write either, so I was wondering if you'd rather me go the route where Alex and Luke are exes who broke up prior to this or if you want their romance to progress as Reggie and Bella's does? Let me know in the discussion section below, and I'll hopefully see you guys on my next chapter! (okay so I was thinking about it and I think I'd rather do the second option. Are you guys okay with that?)
> 
> Last thing. This is my 1st time using AO3 to publish something so I apologize if there are any issues with how I organize it.


	2. In Your Starlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella makes her decision!

"Reginald. Right on time." 

"So... Did you decide?" He implores, practically bouncing up and down. 

"I have." I tell him, grinning as he waits for me to add to that. I put my stuff in my locker, putting the necessary books into my backpack, as he continues staring at me. I move as slowly as possible, to add to the suspense.

"Bella!" He shouts, making some people jerk their heads in our direction. Eventually, they just go back to what they were doing.

"Hmm?" I reply, picking up my backpack. 

"Are you gonna perform with us or not?" He asks, pouting. It's kind of adorable. 

"Sure." I say, nonchalantly. He stares, his eyes wide, and pulls me into a hug. 

"This is great! I can't wait to tell the guys!" He exclaims, with a giddy smile. 

"Tell us what?" A dark-haired boy wearing a muscle tee paired with some cuffed jeans and black vans who I already know to be Luke, the band's lead singer and guitarist, questions. He walks over with a blonde boy who's in a pink shirt, ripped denim hoodie, jeans, and some sneakers. 

"Bella agreed to fill in for Bobby." Reggie tells them, letting go of me just to wrap his arm around me. 

"Really? That's perfect." The boy in pink and their drummer, Alex, responds.

"So, when's our first rehearsal?" I ask, moving Reggie's arm away. 

"Does now sound okay?" Luke replies, tilting his head to the side. 

"Uh, I guess. I'll just have to let Cindy know I won't need a ride home today." I tell him, just as I notice her walking over. I wave at her, as her brows raise at the sight of the guys. 

"So, I take it you said yes." She says, smirking. I nod, and fill her in on the ride-home-situation. "Oh. No problem." She tells me, with a quick glimpse at the boys. "No problem at all."

I roll my eyes at her, as she walks towards the parking lot. 

"So, one of you guys has a car, right? Cause I am not about to ride on the back of a bike." I say, looking at Reggie who I know doesn't have his own car.

"I do." Alex tells me, nodding. With a sigh of relief, I follow them to Alex's car. "So, how'd you become friends with Reggie?" He asks, as we get in the car. Luke called shotgun first, so I'm sitting with Reggie in the back. 

"I wouldn't really call us friends. We're just next-door neighbors." I reply, buckling my seat belt. Reggie seems a little hurt, but I'm not sure why. Sure, we've hung out in the past, since we live so close, but I still don't think we know each other well enough to be considered friends. 

"Oh. He seemed to have a lot to say about you, when he was convincing us to let you be Bobby's replacement, so I just assumed you guys were close." He responds, driving away from the school. 

"Oh. Like what?" I implore, a little caught off guard. I look over at Reggie, who seems a little embarrassed. 

"He said that you could play guitar, that you were a super good singer, and that you were a talented writer." Alex tells me, Reggie turning his head towards the window. 

"You really said that?" I ask him, and he just nods. "Wait. How'd you know about my writing? I've never showed you any of my work..." I add, blinking. 

"I may or may not have read something you dropped on the way to class..." He trails off, turning his head back around to face me.

"What was it?" I reply, staring at him, angrily. 

"A song. It, uh, didn't have a name, but it was rad." He answers, biting his lip. 

"Do you still have it?" I continue, crossing my arms.

"No. I snuck it into your locker, when you weren't there."

"Wait. I-I knew I didn't leave it there, but..." I stammer, memories flooding back to me. "I can't believe you took that. You had no right, Reginald." 

"I'm sorry. I was just curious. I didn't think you'd get so upset about it." He says, shrugging. Biting the inside of my cheek, I turn and stare out the window. Unsure of a way to relieve the tension, I guess, Luke puts the radio on. Fortunately, their rehearsal space isn't too far from the school and, before I know it, we're there. 

"Hi, Mrs. Cassidy." Luke greets an elderly woman who's sat on her front porch, reading a book and drinking tea. 

"Good afternoon, Lucas." She replies, smiling. "Alexander. Reginald... And I don't believe we've met?"

"I'm Bella..." I start to say, before recalling how she greeted the boys. "Isabella. Bobby's sick, so I'm filling in for him, temporarily." I explain, twirling my curly hair around my finger. 

"Oh. Tell Robert I hope he feels better soon. He's a sweet boy... Well, I wouldn't want to keep you any longer. The garage is open, and feel free to grab a snack or something to drink from the kitchen."

We all nod, and Luke leads the way to the garage. 

"She seems really nice." I say, sitting on the couch. 

"Yeah. She is. We met her in book club." Alex tells me, nodding and sitting at his drum kit. 

"You guys went to a book club?" I question, arching my brows. 

"Luke kind of misunderstood when he signed us up for it. He thought he was booking us a gig at a club. Then, when we got there, we decided to just stick around. We played them music. They let us have some of their snacks. We even participated a bit sometimes." Alex explains, getting set up to rehearse. 

"And then Mrs. Cassidy offered up her garage for us to rehearse, when she found out we didn't have a set space for it." Reggie chimes in, tuning his bass.

"Interesting..." I respond. "So, um, I don't have my guitar with me. Since we came here straight from school."

"I don't think Bobby would mind if you used his guitar just this once." Luke says, shrugging. There's a moment of hesitation before I pick it up and put the strap over my head. 

"Would he get mad, if I adjusted the straps?" I wonder, looking down at the guitar. 

"Um, I mean, he could just readjust it later, right?" Reggie suggests. I look to the other two boys for any additional comments and get nothing, so end up just adjusting the straps. I'd rather not have it fit wrong and have something bad happen, as a result.

"So, what are you guys planning on playing Friday?" I ask, once everyone's gotten ready to start rehearsing.

"Luke wrote this really rad song. In Your Starlight. We thought we'd perform that and Now or Never." Reggie says, reaching for Luke's songbook. Still upset with him about before, I roll my eyes and grab it first. 

"What page?" I implore, turning to face Luke. 

"It's, uh, the last dog-eared page." He says, looking over at Reggie. 

"Search your eyes, for a sign, that I've got a chance, better than the other guys, who waste your time, asking if you want to dance..." I read, trying to figure out the melody and failing. 

"You've only got one life, why not spare one night?" Reggie sings, as the guys start playing. 

"Let me into your starlight." They sing in unison, as I watch in awe.

"The way you shine so bright, gonna make me go blind, but I swear I don't mind." Luke leads, his love for what he's doing clearly showing.

"Just let me into your starlight." They sing in unison again.

"Keep your eyes on my ey-es, do you feel what I feel, can't tell if it's real? Let me into your starlight."

"Starlight." Reggie sings, playing his heart out.

"In your starlight."

"Starlight." Alex sings, finishing up their performance. I applaud, grinning. 

"That sounds great, guys." I tell them, getting a wave of "Thanks." 

"We don't have the bridge done yet, but we can teach you Bobby's part for what we've gotten done so far." Luke tells me, looking at his songbook. I nod, and we get started working on the song. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided I wanted to try writing In Your Starlight cause why not I don't know if it's any good I showed it to my friend and she told me it was really good but she could have easily lied to spare my feelings #overthinking_gang_gang anywho I hope you liked the chapter even if you don't happen to like the song. Also, I promise chapter 3 will be more interesting <3


	3. A Budding Crush

"I'm gonna go get something to drink." Luke says, after we've worked on the song for a little while.

"Mind if I join you? I'm parched." I reply, and he nods. 

"Ladies first." He says, opening the garage door. 

"Thank you." I say, smiling and walking outside. I follow him to the kitchen, humming In Your Starlight. 

"Stuck in your head?" He asks, grabbing some juice from the fridge. 

"Yeah." I tell him, chuckling and leaning against the counter.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Hopefully, the fans like it too." He says, getting out two glasses and pouring some juice for us both. 

"I'm sure they will." I assure him, nodding. He smiles and, for a moment, it looks like he's going to overflow the glass, but he catches himself first. 

"Uh, here." He says, clearing his throat and handing me a glass. I accept it, taking a seat at the table and a sip of juice. "Anyways, can I say something?" 

"I'm pretty sure that's what you're already doing." I comment, looking up at him. He tilts his head, so I quit the joking. "Go ahead." 

"Okay. So, I understand why you're upset with Reggie, but I think you should try maybe forgiving him. He really didn't mean to upset you. He just does things without thinking some times." He explains, sitting in the chair next to me. 

"I don't know. I just don't like knowing he invaded my privacy like that." I tell him, shaking my head. 

"I promise you Reggie isn't the kind of person that does stuff to hurt people on purpose. He just let his curiosities get the best of him." Luke continues, frowning. 

"It's just... That song means a lot to me. I never really planned on sharing it with anyone. So, yeah..." I trail off, twisting my curls around my finger.

"Yeah. I understand where you're coming from." He says, a look in his eyes appearing that I can't quite read. "I just think he deserves a second chance. Sorry. Sometimes I feel like I'm better with words when it comes to lyrics, then I go to speak normally and it comes out totally wrong."

I look up at him, contemplating it. Maybe I was a little hard on Reggie? 

"Fine. I will..." I reply, squinting. "But. He has to promise me he won't snoop around my stuff again."

"Perfect. I'll talk to him about it, and soon you'll have your promise." He says, grinning. 

"Awesome... Um, can I ask you something?"

"I'm pretty sure that's what you're already doing." He mimics me, drinking his juice. I roll my eyes and playfully shove him in the chest, almost spilling his juice. "Sure."

"Why does it matter so much if I'm upset with Reggie?"

"Because we're a band. Even if you're just here for a little bit, you're still an important member since, without you, we might not have a rhythm guitarist right now." He tells me, as I listen to his answer, intently. "And chemistry between band members is also very important. If you were doing everything you could to ignore Reggie, people might notice and everything would be off." 

"Looks like someone, finally, found the right words." I respond, smirking. He shrugs, and chugs the rest of his juice. 

"We should probably try to get some more rehearsing done before it gets too late." He says, taking a look out the window at the sun beginning to set. Agreeing, I finish my juice and follow him to the garage where Alex and Reggie are mid-conversation on the couch. They shoot up, at our entrance, walking back over to their instruments.

"Ready?" Alex asks. 

"Yeah." We all agree, as Luke and I both grab our guitars. 

"A one-two-three-four..."

"Hey, mom." I say, dropping my backpack at the front door. 

"Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you for the past hour." She replies, sitting in the kitchen. 

"Oh. I thought Cindy would've let you know, for me. I was with Reggie and his band-mates. One of Sunset Curve's members is sick, so I'm just filling in for them." I explain, sitting down with her. 

"You joined a band without checking in with me first?" She questions, making me a plate. 

"I didn't really join a band. I'm taking Bobby's place for one gig, so he has time to recover and be ready for the next one. Plus, it's Friday, so they needed a quick answer. I didn't have much time to talk to you about it." I tell her, pouring my drink. 

"So, it's just for this week?" She implores, now making herself a plate. I nod, and I see her thinking it all over, while I start eating my dinner. "Fine. Just remember that you still have school. There's only less than a month left in the semester. So, finals will be coming up soon and you're going to need to start thinking about which colleges you'll be applying to. I mean, I hope you've already started, at least, thinking about it."

"I know. I know. I won't let it distract me." I agree, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. I understand how close I am to being a senior, but I hate thinking about the future. I just want to focus on what's happening now, before it's too late. 

"Good." She replies, smiling. We finish up dinner, not saying much else, before I go up to my room to work on homework. I change into sweatpants, a graphic tee, and fuzzy socks, laying all my work onto my desk. As the time gets close to ten, I feel my eyelids drooping, but I push through, finishing up just before eleven. With a sigh of relief, I switch off the light and drop myself onto my bed, falling asleep almost in an instant.

Morning comes a little too soon for me, but I do my best to rub the sleep from my eyes and get ready. I brush my teeth, then change into a green and black plaid dress and black boots. I pair it with a black beanie, fixing my hair just a bit, and head downstairs for breakfast. 

As usual, my mom's already left for work, leaving me to make myself some toast and eggs and a cup of coffee. 

"Let me into your starlight, the way you shine so bright, gonna make me go blind, but I swear I don't mind..." I sing, since it really does get stuck in your head. It's either that or the fact that we rehearsed it for almost two hours. 

Eventually, I hear Cindy's car pull into the driveway. I finish up my breakfast, putting my dishes in the sink and popping a piece of mint gum in my mouth, so I won't have to brush my teeth a second time. "Hey." I greet her, getting in the car. 

"Hey, Bella. I love your outfit today." She compliments me, pulling out of my driveway. 

"Really? I just kind of threw on what I saw first. I had a late night, so I didn't have time to lay anything out." I respond, looking at myself in the mirror. 

"I feel ya. They are killing us with the amount of homework they're giving. I worked till, like, nine. I, barely, got to enjoy my night. I can't imagine what it was like for you, considering you had rehearsal too."

"Thanks for reminding me." I say, yawning. "Not saying this was a mistake, but it's, definitely, taking its toll on me. At least I'll be back to normal, after Friday."

She smiles, and I turn on the radio to listen to the rest of the car ride. Before we know it, we're at school and we must once again go our separate ways. I open my locker, surprisingly, humming something other than In Your Starlight. 

"Hey, Bella."

"Ugh. What is up with you boys and sneaking up on me? Should I expect Alex tomorrow?" I respond, flinching at Luke's sudden appearance. 

"Sorry about that. I was just wondering if you might want to sit with us at lunch. I had some ideas to run by you and the guys." He tells me, while I take out my textbooks and slam my locker shut. 

"I don't know. I'm not sure I want to just abandon Cindy like that." I reply, shaking my head. 

"She could join us too." He says, shrugging. I feel my lips moving into a thin line, as I think about it. I'm sure Cindy'll be excited to be sitting with the guys. 

"Why not?" I decide, nodding. He smiles, lingering for a moment, before leaving. I tilt my head to the side, watching as he walks away, then I head to class.

"Hi, boys." Cindy greets them, sitting down next to Alex and across from me at lunch.

"What am I? Chopped liver?" I implore, sitting between Reggie and Luke. 

"I sent your greeting, telepathically. You didn't get it?" She responds, covering for herself. 

"Must've been a lag." I say, shaking my head. The guys just look at us like we're weirdos, which I guess we are.

"Anyways..." Luke cuts in, opening his songbook to the In Your Starlight page. "Here's what I came up with for the pre-chorus." He continues, moving it so Reggie and I can read it. 

"That is going to sound amazing!" I comment, handing it to Alex. 

"Thanks." Luke replies, grinning at my compliment. I smile back, suddenly thinking about how often he seems to be so smiley. I wonder if he's always like this, or if it has something to do with me. 

"Yeah. Bella's right." Alex agrees, reminding me of where we are. 

"Awesome. We can work on it at rehearsal later." Luke replies, taking his songbook back. And, once school is over, that's exactly what we do, after first making a quick stop at my house to grab my guitar. 

"That was awesome!" I exclaim, high-fiving Luke. Alex and Reggie both agree, nodding. Yet, I notice something unusual about their expressions. I can't quite put my finger on it, so I just push it away. 

"I'm gonna go get us some water." Luke tells us, heading towards the kitchen. 

"I'll come with." I say, before my brain has the time to process it. I see Reggie and Alex looking at me, questionably, so I leave the garage before they can say anything about it. 

"You're doing a really great job, Bella. And, don't tell Bobby, but I think you're a little more fun to be around too. Sometimes I think he just wanted to be in a band for all the attention." Luke says, grabbing four water bottles from the fridge. 

"Is that not why you wanted to be in a band? For all the fame and money?" I respond, grabbing two of the bottles from him. 

"No. Not exactly. I just really love music and I'd been writing for as long as I could remember. So, I just decided I wanted to share it with others. I don't really care about the attention I get. It's more so just knowing how much people enjoy listening to our music and just being able to make a difference in their day. That's all I really want to do." He explains, leaning against the counter. 

I nod, feeling myself gravitating toward him. Something about him just feels so real and genuine, and his smile's just so contagious. I look up at him, lyrics floating around my mind. 

Search your eyes, for a sign, that I've got a chance.

I keep my eyes on his, searching for that sign. He tilts his head, and I can't tell whether it's a preparation for a kiss kind of head tilt or a what are you doing kind of head tilt. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately), Mrs. Cassidy walks into the kitchen with an empty cup in her hand and I take a step back, averting my eyes. 

"Sorry. Was I interrupting something?" She asks, moving her eyes back and forth between the two of us. 

"Uh, n-no. We were just grabbing some water for everyone." I stutter, rubbing the back of my neck. He snaps his finger, pointing at me, in agreement. With a slow nod, she puts her cup in the sink, and walks back out of the kitchen. "We should, um, probably get these waters to them." I tell him, grabbing the bottles I'd put on the counter at some point, I guess. 

"Yeah..."

Without another word, we go back to the garage, seeming to both be in silent agreement that we should just forget about what just happened. Well, almost happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw guys i didn't forget that this was a reggie x OC story i just don't want this story to be really short so I need to add some conflict to spice things up and i decided to have said conflict be that Bella develops a crush on Luke first. Does he reciprocate these feelings? Will Reggie notice and will he be jealous? What about the role Alex will play in all this? Guess you'll just have to keep reading😏 (Also, 6 pages? Who am I?)
> 
> Also, not story related but I got my edge of Great book the other day and I finished it last night. I do have some notes but overall I did still enjoy it


	4. Chapter 4

I sit in my room, replaying the moment with Luke, over an over as I do my homework. I can't even focus on my AP Calculus work, and my mom'll kill me if I don't ace my exam. 

"Why does he have to have such a nice smile?" I ask myself aloud, attempting to get through my homework. Shaking away my thoughts, I manage to get my homework done, but I decide to take a break from studying.

"I need to do something to get him out of my mind..." I tell myself, putting away my notes. I look around my room, eyes landing on my guitar. "Perfect. I can just write down some lyrics. Maybe even something for the bridge of In Your Starlight. See, I may not be studying, but I'm still being productive." 

I get to work on some lyrics and, the next day at lunch, I show them what I wrote. God shows mercy on me, as I realize Luke is completely oblivious to the fact that they were written with him in mind. However, from the way Alex and Reggie are looking at me, I'm not sure I can say the same thing about them. 

"Wow. That's gnarly. How'd you come up with it?" Reggie asks, furrowing his brows together.

"Uh, it just came to me, while I was doing my homework last night." I tell them, not technically lying. I'm merely leaving out certain details. He stares at me for a moment, but soon drops it. He probably could tell that was all I was willing to say. 

"Well, now we just have to work on the music and we've got a full song. Plus, it'll leave time for you to learn Now or Never." Luke replies, as Cindy walks over. 

"What'd I miss?" She implores, sitting in one of the empty spots beside me. 

"Bella was just showing us these killer lyrics she wrote." Luke tells her, handing me my paper back. 

"Can I read it?" She asks, looking to me. I hesitate, knowing she'll want to know more about the writing process. If I was going to tell Cindy about my newfound crush, it would NOT be in front of the guys. Still, I'm also aware that it'd be weird for me to just say no, so I hand it to her and go back to eating lunch. 

"I wonder who this is about..." She says, elbowing me in the side and looking over at Reggie who's hand is resting in his palm as he pokes at his food. I look at Luke to see him working in his songbook, then to Alex who's eyes are looking off into the abyss. So, taking that into account, I grab Cindy's chin and move her head so she's facing Luke. "Luke?" She mouths and I nod.

"How? What?" She whispers, but I shake my head.

"Another time..." 

Later, after school, I walk into my house to grab my guitar. The guys said I could just leave it at the garage, but I told them I'd rather have it at my house in case I wanted to play something when I got home or practice on my own. 

"Isabella, you're home early. I thought you'd be with that band." My mom greets me, sitting at the table with her laptop. 

"Yeah. I came to grab my guitar... You're usually not home this early." I reply, walking over to the table. 

"I didn't have much to get done at the office, so I'm just finishing up my work here." She explains, typing away. "So, how are things? How's school? The band?"

"Both are good." I say, nodding. I stand there for a moment, but soon go up to my room once it's clear she doesn't have much else to say.

"Uh, make sure you're home in time for dinner." She tells me, as I come down with my mint green guitar. I nod at her, blow a kiss, and walk back to Alex's car. 

"Now, let's get rehearsing!" I exclaim, as Alex pulls out of the driveway. 

"Let me into your starlight." Luke sings, as I mouth the words and play.

"The room stands still." Reggie sings, as we make eye contact. 

"The way you shine so bright." Luke continues, my gaze switching back to him.

"My thoughts start to fill." Alex sings, as I get ready for the last lines. 

"Gonna make me go blind, but I swear I don't mind. Gonna make me go blind, and lose my mind!" They all sing in unison, ending with a sweet harmony on the last "mind." I'm so busy listening to them, I almost mess up my part, but it's only off by a second before I get back on track for the repeat of the chorus. 

"Wow. That bridge worked great!" Luke says, grinning at the end. "See. This is why we put you in charge of finding Bobby's replacement." He adds, giving Reggie a playful elbow in the side. Reggie nods, but his excitement doesn't seem to be fully there. 

"So, uh, you guys wanna work on Now or Never now? My mom still isn't completely in love with me doing this, so I don't want to stay too late." I reply, tying my hair up into a ponytail with a green scrunchie. They all nod, and Alex counts us in after they go through my part with me. 

After going through it for some time, I decide I should probably head home. So, I grab my guitar and head to Alex's car, waiting for the others. 

"Hey, Bella, I've got an idea." Luke says, sitting with me in the back. I notice Reggie raise his eyebrows, before sitting in Luke's usual seat in the front. 

"Yeah?" I ask, turning to face him. 

"You know, when Bobby comes back as rhythm guitarist, you could always stick around to help us write lyrics." He suggests, with a small smile. 

"Like a ghost writer?" I implore, as Alex starts driving towards my house. 

"I mean, we would be giving you credit." He adds, leaning a little forward. He looks down, realizing he didn't put on his seat belt. 

"I-I'll think about it." I say, chuckling at him as he buckles his seat belt. He seems proud of himself, as he turns away to get lost in his thoughts. I try to guess what might be going on his mind, but give up and stay in my own head. 

"Bye, guys." I say, once we've reached my house. I wave, getting out of the car and walking up to my house. "Hey, mom."

"Hi...Here, come sit with me at the table." She replies, patting the chair next to her. 

"I'll be down in a minute. I just need to take a quick shower first." I tell her, heading towards the stairs. 

"Wait. Sweetheart, this is important..." She stops me, reaching her hands out to me. I stare at her, looking for some idea of what could be so important that I couldn't even take a shower first. There's a pile of mail at the table. I wonder if that has anything to do with it.

"What is it?" I question, watching as she takes in a deep breath. 

"It's about your father." She answers, picking up one of the open envelopes. 

"I-I thought he didn't want anything to do with me." I say, taking a seat. 

"Um. Well, I don't know what changed, but he wrote a letter. It was for me, but more about you." She explains, taking a piece of paper out of the envelope. 

"Wuh... What does it say?" I respond, sighing. 

"Um, to summarize, he asked me if we could plan a meet up between the two of you." She tells me, skimming through it. 

"After all these years? He just...sent you a letter and thought I'd just be fine with that? Did he even apologize?" I say, starting to get riled up. 

"Of course, he did, sweetie." 

"Let me see that!" I shout, reaching for it. She moves it away, and I cross my arms in response. "What don't you want me to know?" I continue, furrowing my brows. 

"It's not like that. It's just..." She trails off, biting her lip. I stare at her, waiting for the rest of her sentence. When it becomes clear she has no intention of finishing, I run upstairs to my room and slam my door shut. I hear her yell my name, but I ignore it. Right now, all I want is just some time to myself. I just don't understand how he could run out on us and expect me to welcome him back into my life with open arms, practically fifteen years later.

"Bella, can I come in?" My mom asks, lightly knocking on the door.

"Please, don't. I really need some time to myself right now." I tell her, tears running down from eyes.

"I brought your dinner. Honey, I know you're upset, but you need to eat." She replies, but I know I can't eat right now. 

"Just, um, leave it by the door. I'll eat it in a bit." 

"Oh, okay." She says, as I see the white of the plate appear through the small crack under the door. I hear her footsteps recede, as I sit down on my bed. I remember I'm still wearing my guitar, and I put it down next to me. 

Humming the tune of a song I've avoided singing for a little while, I trace circles on my guitar. A tear drips onto one of the strings, as I pick it back up again. 

"Tired little girl, raw deal she's been dealt by the world, mom's always out, dad's somewhere about, but why should she care?" I sing, the chords coming back to me as I play. 

"Salty tears, as she tries to face her fears, ignore it all, keep her head held tall, pretend there's someone there..."

"Still it gets lonely sometimes, waiting for them to make things right, still it gets lonely in this empty house, playing this game of cat and mouse."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote another song well a verse and chorus. don't know how I feel about it yet, so I'd appreciate your feedback and hey, if you like writing and have a better idea of lyrics I could use, then feel free to put it in the comments and if I do use it I promise to give credit :) hope you enjoyed the chapter. next chapter they'll finally be performing wonder how that'll go...😏


	5. Adrenaline

"You ready for our gig?" Luke asks, as the three boys walk over to my locker Friday morning. 

"We all came, since one person seems to scare you too much." Reggie says, before I can speak. 

"Hey, guys." I reply, solemnly. 

"What's with the long face?" Reggie adds, tilting his head to the side.

"Just had a long night. That's all." I tell them, taking out my textbooks. 

"Studying for the History exam?" Alex chimes in. I look over at him, frowning. I, completely, forgot to study, in all the craziness last night. 

"Uh, y-yeah." I lie, nodding and closing my locker. 

"Yep. I am not excited for that, but at least we get to perform tonight." He says, grinning. I nod, heading towards my class.

"Are you, uh, sure you're okay? You just seem a little off." Reggie responds, following me. 

"I already explained I was up late studying. I don't get why you're so worried." I tell him, rolling my eyes. 

"It's just... Luke said the main reason you were so upset was because of how personal the song was to you. And I know I messed up reading it, but there isn't anything I can do about it now. I know what it said and..." He trails off, stopping me in my tracks. 

"And what?" I implore, knowing exactly what's coming next. 

"W-was that little girl you? Or maybe she still is you?"

"That's none of your business." I say, biting inside of my cheek. 

"I know. And you keep reminding me, but..." He says, biting his lip. "I want you to know that, if something's wrong, you can tell me. Or really any of us. I'd like to think we're people you can confide in. People you can trust... The guys have helped me through so much, so I just wanted you to know that. That's all." He adds, turning to walk to his own class. 

"Wait, Reggie." I stop him, calming down a bit. He turns around, and I continue. "Thank you. Uh, it means a lot."

"No problem." He replies, almost too quiet for me to hear, and walks away.

"I cannot wait for our performance tonight." Luke says, later at our lunch table. 

"You guys are gonna kill it. I can't wait to see it." Cindy replies, playing with her blonde waves as she makes obvious heart eyes at Alex. I nod in agreement, picking at my food. "You okay?" She asks, turning her attention to me. 

"Yeah. Just tired." I tell her, looking at Reggie as our conversation from before comes to my mind.

"You'll be okay for the concert?" She adds, arching her brows. 

"What? Oh. Yeah, of course. I'm not gonna let all our hard work go to waste." I answer, looking at Luke who's smiling. I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I avert my gaze back to Cindy. 

"When are we gonna talk about...you know what?" She questions.

"Soon." I say, since I really don't feel like getting into it right now. 

"Okay." She replies, sighing. 

"Kids, dinner's ready." Mrs. Cassidy tells us, popping into the garage. 

"We'll be there, in a minute. And thanks again for letting us have dinner with you guys. If Alex had to drive everyone home and then pick us all up again after dinner, we'd have lost a lot of rehearsal time." I reply, slipping off my guitar. 

"Oh. It's no problem at all, Isabella." She says, waving and going back inside the house. 

"Okay, guys. After dinner, we'll really have about two and a half hours, right? Can't believe how close we are to getting on the stage." I tell the guys, trying to shake away my nerves.

"Yep... And, hey, don't worry too much if you're feeling super nervous. As soon as we start, you're gonna be totally fine. I think it's just the adrenaline of playing." Luke responds, walking over to me. He puts his hands on my shoulders, looking me directly in my eyes, as he speaks. I smile up at him, nodding. 

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to eat." Reggie cuts in, walking towards the garage doors. 

"Honestly, I feel like throwing up, but to each his own." Alex replies, shrugging and following him to the house. Luke gives my shoulders a quick squeeze before moving his hands away and walking with the guys. I take in a deep breath and release, ending up being the last to leave the garage.

"Excited for your performance?" Mrs. Cassidy asks, as Mr. Cassidy brings in two extra chairs to the table. 

"Yeah. The fans are gonna love it. And they are gonna love Bella." Luke replies, making himself a plate. 

"I could hear you playing. You're very talented." Mrs. Cassidy complimented, looking at me, proudly. 

"Aww. Thank you." I say, with a sheepish smile. 

"God, this is so delicious!" Reggie exclaims, scarfing down the food on his plate. We all chuckle at him, as we start our own dinners. We eat, talk, and laugh. Time seems to be going so fast, as I soon find myself standing outside a building with the guys, instruments in tow. 

"This is it!" Luke tells us, my nerves creeping back in. 

"This is it." I respond, with a less excited tone of voice. 

"Hey, Bella, remember what I said. As soon as you get on the stage and start playing, you'll forget about all your worries. Right, Alex?" Luke says, looking over at the blonde boy currently biting his nails and pacing a bit.

"Oh, yeah. Definitely. But it probably helps that I'm on drums, since I usually just imagine the drums as everything making me anxious." Alex agrees, air drumming with his sticks. Working with the guys, I've learned a little more about them. So, knowing Alex is the most anxious of the group and still agrees with Luke's statement, helps put me more at ease. 

"Okay. I think I'm ready to go in." I say, doing the breathing exercises they taught me earlier. They all nod, as we walk into the building. There's someone there to welcome us, as we set up our instruments on the stage. We all give a quick thumbs up, as they walk off, and we get ready to warm-up and go through the songs again.

Since I'm not doing any singing tonight, I focus on stretching my fingers and doing some scales on my guitar. I see Luke and Reggie doing the same thing before warming up their voices. Alex's drum rudiments can be heard, as well. Eventually, once everyone has warmed up, we get started on practicing the songs. 

"Take off, last stop, countdown till we blast open the top..."

* * *

"Just let me into your starlight."

"Starlight."

"In your starlight."

"Starlight."

The audience applauds us, as we take our final bows. We wave and smile, Reggie winking at one of the girls in the crowd. I can just barely hear her squeals through the cheering, and I have to hold in a laugh. 

"Thank you! Thank you, we're Sunset Curve!" Luke shouts, as we start to walk off the stage. 

"Tell your friends!" Reggie adds, pausing for a moment before continuing to follow us off the the stage.

"You're such a dork." I tease, playfully shoving Reggie. 

"Hey, I'm just doing my job." He replies, matter-of-factly. 

"Guys! We, totally, killed it. That was awesome!" Luke exclaims, the excitement radiating off of him. 

"Yeah and, I gotta admit, it was kinda fun." I say, nodding as we head to the somewhat small room they call the "backstage area" even though it's not back of the stage. 

"Kinda? That was insane!" He responds. When Luke said adrenaline, he meant it. He's acting like he just drank three energy drinks in a row. 

"You good?" I ask, tilting my head to the side. He nods, grinning so much he looks like a little puppy. It's sort of cute. 

"I'm gonna grab a snack, now that I don't feel so much like throwing up." Alex tells us, walking towards the small snack table they put out for us. 

"Ooh. I didn't even get to see what they left for us." Reggie says, excitedly, as he follows Alex. That just leaves Luke and I.

I sit down on the couch, exhausted from all the playing I did from rehearsal to the actual performance. He takes a seat next to me, not saying anything. I notice his hands are shaking and wonder if he did somehow manage to drink three energy drinks without us seeing. 

"You sure you're okay, Luke?" I repeat, reaching for his shaky hand. "Your hands are shaking." 

"Y-yeah, I'm good..." He answers, looking down at our intertwined hands and back to my eyes. "I... You know I"m not always great with words." He adds, licking his lips. I raise my eyebrows, waiting for him to explain more. I can feel my heart racing, as we sit there, and I barely process what happens next. 

First, I feel him leaning in closer. Then, I feel his soft lips on mine. I hesitate for a moment, before letting go of his hand to place it on his neck and kiss back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -oop I'm ending there yes i am so cruel anywho i hope you guys are enjoying this story even if I'm making Bella and Luke a thing temporarily plz don't leave lol Rella will happen at some point I just needed to make this story interesting 
> 
> also not Cindy being oblivious and crushing on Alex I-


	6. Talk Tomorrow

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just kissed you, out of the blue." Luke apologizes, pulling away, his face bright red. 

"I don't know if you noticed, Luke, but I kissed you back." I say, smirking. 

"Oh, I-I guess, you did... So, I'm not a total idiot, then?" He replies, awkwardly. I shake my head, leaning in to kiss him again, before being interrupted by Alex and Reggie coming back. 

"Uh, sorry. We didn't realize..." Alex trails off, the two of them stopping in the door way. 

"N-no. It's fine." I tell them, scooting a little away from Luke. 

"O-kay. We, um, brought you guys some snacks too." Reggie says, as they each walk over with two plates of food. 

"Thanks." Luke says, grabbing a plate from Reggie. 

"Yeah, thanks." I say, taking the last plate from Alex. We eat and continue to talk about the performance, avoiding the awkwardness in the air. After a while, we all decide it's time to head out. We pack up our instruments, and head first towards my house.

"Hey, wait, Bella." I hear, right as I'm about to open my front door. 

"Yeah?" I ask, turning around to look at Luke. 

"I was just thinking maybe we could, um, talk tomorrow? About...this." He replies, pointing at the two of us. 

"Oh. Uh, sure." I tell him, nodding. 

"Great..." He says, before going back to the car. I wait a moment, then step inside and close the door behind me. I look around, taking in the emptiness. With just one last glance around my surroundings, I head upstairs to try to go to sleep. I pass by my mom's room, happy to see her sat in bed, reading a book. 

"Come in, Bella. Tell me about the show." She says, noticing me standing outside the door. 

"Uh, I'm tired. Can we talk tomorrow?" 

"Oh, of course. Good night. Love you!" She calls out, as I continue towards my room. 

"Night, love you too!" I call back, sitting down on my bed. I want to fall asleep, but there's way too many thoughts floating around my head. Still, I change into some comfier clothes, brush my teeth, and wash away the bit of makeup I put on for the performance. Yawning, I turn off the light and get into my bed, doing my best drown out all my thoughts. Eventually, I somehow get to sleep and wake up in the late morning. 

"Good morning, amore mio." My mom says, as I walk down the stairs, rubbing my eyes. 

"Morning, Mamma." I reply, walking over to the dining table. 

"I made breakfast. It might be a little cold, but I didn't know when you'd be up and I wanted it to be ready for you as soon as you did." She tells me, getting out a plate for me. 

"It's fine." I say, sitting down. 

"So, tell me about your performance last night." She says, making me a plate and placing it down in front of me. 

"Oh. It was, uh, really fun. The crowd loved us and the guy there said he'd love to have us again. Obviously, I won't be there, though." 

"Right." She says, nodding. There's silence, as we both eat, before we hear the door bell ring. "Be right back."

She gets up to answer the door, as I continue to eat my breakfast. I hear the faint sounds of conversation coming from the front door, but I get no insight into the conversation or who she's speaking to. 

"Honey, you have a visitor!" She shouts, as the conversation dies down. I arch my eyebrows, as I put down my silverware and walk to the door. 

"Luke?" I respond, taking note of the boy standing there with his bike leaning against the wall. 

"Sorry, I didn't know what time to come, so I just came." He tells me, taking in my pajamas I still haven't changed out of yet. 

"It's fine. Um, do you mind waiting? I just need to change real quick." I reply, him responding with a prompt shake of his head. I give him a small smile, going to close the door and walk upstairs, but my mom stops me. 

"You're making him wait outside?" She questions, raising her brows. 

"I'll only be a minute." I retort, but she isn't having any of it. Shaking her head, she lets Luke inside and walks him to the kitchen. Praying my mom doesn't try to interrogate him or anything, I go upstairs to get changed. 

"Alright. I'm ready!" I exclaim, walking downstairs in a cropped orange button down short-sleeve, black skinny jeans, and some black and white checkered vans. 

"Awesome." Luke replies, with a sheepish smile. I look over at my mom for a sign of what I missed, while I was upstairs, but I get nothing. 

"So, did you have a place in mind for us to go?" I ask, grabbing one of my purses from near the front door. 

"I thought maybe the beach would be nice?" He suggests, and I nod. 

"Good. We can walk, then, since my mom needs the car today." I say, opening the front door. "Bye, Mamma. Love you!"

"Love you too. You kids have fun. But not too much fun!" She calls out, and I feel my face heating up at her statement. 

"I'm sorry about her. I hope she didn't bother you too much, while I was upstairs." I whisper, as we leave and head towards the beach.

"No. She seems really sweet, and she cares a lot about you." He tells me, and I smile. "So, I guess we have some stuff to talk about." 

"Yeah..." I trail off, eyes scanning the beach. Considering how late I woke up, the beach is packed with tons of people. Surfers. Families. Kids enjoying their time away from school. 

"I-I've never really been in this situation before, so I don't really know where to start." Luke admits, scratching the back of his neck. 

"Me either." I say, licking my lips. "I guess, the big question is what you want this to be. You know, a kiss can mean a lot of different things." 

"I mean, I want to maybe take you on a date? See where things go from there." He answers, sitting with me in the sand. 

"I'd like that..." I say, resting my head on his shoulder. 

"Would tonight be too soon?" He implores, holding my hand. 

"Tonight sounds perfect." 

* * *

"Hey, Cindy. Thanks for coming over."

"When you said Luke, I knew I needed to come... So, tell me everything." Cindy replies, sitting on her bed.

"Well, I don't really know how to explain it. We talked during breaks at rehearsal and something about him just made me like him. He just cares so much. About his friends. About his music. He's just got such an infectious energy and his smile..." I trail off, grinning. 

"Aww. I'm so happy for you. But how does he feel about you?" Cindy replies, and I have to hold in my laughter. 

"Oh. He definitely likes me too." I state, nodding as I pick out some clothes from my closet. 

"You seem sure. Like, maybe too sure? Did I miss something?" 

"Kinda, but it just happened. So, I didn't really have the chance to tell you about it till now." I explain, laying out different outfit ideas next to her. 

"Is it related to why you're laying out all these clothes?" She implores, raising an eyebrow. 

"Yeah. So, um, he kind of sort of kissed me after our performance. I kissed him back and then he asked me out on a date. Tonight." I blurt out, patiently waiting her response. 

"Bella! This is so exciting! We have to figure out what you're wearing!" She exclaims, leaping up from my bed. 

"I know..." I reply, pointing at the outfits sat atop my bed.

"Okay. Okay. So, where are you going?" She asks, looking at all the options.

"He didn't say. Just that he'd be here at seven to pick me up." I tell her, shrugging.

"So, you want something cute but also that works for anything he might have come up with. Hmm. Veto. Veto. Veto." She says, looking at the last four sets left. "Pants or a dress?" 

"Um, I don't know. You pick." I reply, putting the vetoed outfits back in my closet. 

"We'll go dress. I doubt he'd take you somewhere a dress wouldn't work. Plus, you can wear sneakers. It'll make it a little more casual and it'll be good in case you have to walk." She decides, adding two more outfits to the pile in my hands. I finish putting the clothes away, before looking at the last two outfits left.

"Okay. Um, I think I like this one better. I'd rather wear a no sleeve and bring a jacket than wear a long-sleeve shirt and get too warm." I say, staring at a beautiful solid baby blue dress. 

"Perfect. This is going to be a great night. I can't wait to talk about it tomorrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed even if a lot didn't happen I guess it was more of a chapter to acknowledge the end of the last chapter but yeah


	7. No Explanation

"Hey, Bella." 

"Alex. Thanks for not hiding behind my locker, like the two goons did last week." I say, greeting him as I walk to my locker. 

"Yeah. I just wanted to see if you still wanted to sit with us at lunch today? I know you said you forgave Luke, now that you know why he left you at the café. We just weren't sure if that meant you still wanted to hang with us." He replies, hands in the pockets of his pink hoodie. 

"Oh. Of course, I'll still hang with you guys. I get that he was in a tough spot and even though I might need some time to think about going on another date with him, that doesn't mean I don't want to keep being friends with you three." I explain, smiling. 

"I'm glad to hear that." He says, with a sigh of relief. 

"See you at lunch?" I ask, opening my locker. 

"See you at lunch."

"Hey, guys." I say, sitting down at our table. 

"Sup, Bella." Reggie says, looking across the table at me. 

"Alex told us you were gonna sit with us again, but we thought he might've been being sarcastic." Luke tells me, as Cindy's blonde hair can be seen in the distance. 

"You never know with him." Reggie says, earning a playful shove from Alex. 

"Hey, Cinds." I greet my best friend, as she sits down beside me. 

"Bella! So, how was your weekend?" She implores, her gaze switching back and forth between Luke and I. Earlier in the morning, when she drove me to school, I'd promised we would talk about it later. I'd ending up not going roller skating Sunday night, choosing to hang out with the guys in the studio for a bit, so she was still a little out of the loop. However, this was not what I meant. I send a glare her way, and she stands down. 

"What about you boys? How was your weekend?" She questions, looking at Reggie and Alex. Her gaze lingers on Alex for a little longer, and I have to stop myself from bursting out laughing at my oblivious friend. If only she knew...

"Great. Alex and I spent some time playing video games Saturday morning. I destroyed him, of course. We had book club in the afternoon. Then, we rehearsed for awhile until Luke had to leave for his date. Once I got back from eating dinner with my family, Alex and I watched all the Star Wars movies. Luke joined in when he got back, obviously. Sunday was mainly rehearsing, but I did head home for a little bit in the morning while my family was at church. I worked on homework and studied, then went back to the garage to rehearse with the guys." Reggie responds, grinning.

"Wow. Sounds fun... Wait. You're in a book club?" She says, eating her lunch. Reggie goes to explain, but I cut him off. 

"Long story."

"Well, you must be really smart, then." Cindy comments, making eye contact with Alex who seems to be looking to me for help. 

"I guess." He replies, shrugging. 

"So, how was your weekend?" I ask her, trying to move her attention to something else. 

"It was nice, even if you did ditch me and the girls last night." She says, turning to look at me with a glare. 

"I didn't ditch you. I just..." I trail off, with a quick glance at the guys. "Got tired."

"I barely saw you outside of school all week." She retorts, pouting. 

"I promise, I'll plan something this weekend." I say, with a small smile. 

"You better." 

Later in the day, I'm walking with Cindy in the hall and she catches sight of a certain drummer. 

"Hey, Alex." She calls out, waving. Awkwardly, he waves back at her before walking to his next class.

I should probably do something about this, shouldn't I?

"Hey, Luke." I say, noticing him sat in the hall, scribbling in his notebook. "Can we talk?'

"Yeah, sure. I have free period." He answers, nodding and closing his notebook. 

"Great... See you, Cindy." 

"Bye." She says, winking and heading to class. I, also, need to make sure to fill her in on the Luke situation soon. 

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Luke implores, leaning against the wall. 

"Oh...Um." I start to speak, hesitating to finish. Even though I'm not as upset about Friday, it's still pretty awkward with him. Do I really want to, I guess, scheme with him, when there's this awkwardness in the air?

"Actually, you know what, it's nothing." I decide, shaking my head. 

"You sure?" He responds, looking almost disappointed. 

"Yeah." I tell him, nodding. "Uh, see you around." I add, turning around and walking towards study hall. 

"See ya..."

I'm halfway to my destination when I, quite literally, run into Reggie. 

"Hey." He says, chuckling as he helps me regain my balance.

"Sorry..." I reply, an idea popping into my head out of the blue. "Um, hey, are you busy?" 

"Depends. You need my help with something?" He responds, arching his brows. 

"Yes, actually, it has to do with Cindy." 

"Does it also have to do with Alex? Cause, no offense at all, but she's not very subtle." He says, with an awkward smile. 

"Exactly! Love her to death, but Cindy's not too great at keeping her cool when she likes someone. But she can't like Alex, cause he will never reciprocate. The issue is I don't want her to get her heart broken or have Alex be put in the awkward position of rejecting her, but I'm also not just going to out Alex. There has to be something I can do to help the two of them, right?" 

"For sure." He agrees, nodding. 

"So, you in to help me?" I question, hopefully. He thinks for a moment before, with a grin, saying "Of course."

Unfortunately, it's extremely difficult coming up with a plan and, before we know it, free period is over. 

"I can't believe we couldn't come up with anything." I say, sighing. 

"After rehearsal, I could always meet up with you at the beach or something." He replies, with a small smile. 

"Yeah. Maybe it'll be more inspiring..." I agree, as the warning bell rings. "Bye."

"Catch you later."

"So, can I hear about your weekend?" Cindy asks, on the way to my house after school. 

"Fine. Basically, we went to this cafe, where they had live music. It was really nice and fun. Then, he sort of ditched me. Just left with no explanation. I was super upset with him, but we talked it out Sunday. Now, things are okay."

"Why'd he leave?" She implores, stopped at a red light. 

"I...can't say. It's something personal to him. The point is you don't need to be mad at him, cause we worked it out." I tell her, shrugging. 

"Okay...If you change your mind, though, let me know. I will beat him up, if you need."

"Thanks." I say, chuckling. The light turns green, and she continues the drive to my house. Once I get there and see my mom isn't home yet, I go up to catch up on the work I got a little behind on rehearsing with the band. It's not much, but I still have to start on the newer assignments too. 

A few hours pass and I go downstairs, for a homework break, only to find my mom working on dinner. I watch her for a moment, before making my presence known. There's something that feels a little off about her, but I can't quite put my finger on it. 

"Mamma, what's wrong?" I implore, furrowing my brows. 

"... Your father called. He asked about the letter."

"Did you tell him it was too late and that I don't want to see him?" I question, biting the inside of my cheek. 

"No. I told him we were still discussing it." She tells me, shaking her head. 

"What's there to discuss? He missed his chance to be apart of my life, and it's his fault."

"Bella, sweetheart... He-" She trails off, but I cut her sentence short.

"No! I'm done with him." I say, rolling my eyes as I take a seat at the table. Sighing, my mom finishes making dinner, and we eat it in silence.

"I'm going to the beach." I say, as soon as I'm done. 

"Did you finish all your homework?" She asks, but I ignore her. It's like anytime I have a good or at least decent day, my dad has to do something to ruin it. Why can't he just leave me alone like he's been doing for the past fifteen years?

Soon, I find myself sitting in the sand, crying. I hate how thinking of him always makes me cry. I wish I could stay strong and just say "Hey, he's not worth it." But I can't...

"Room for one more?"

I lift my head up from my hands and see Reggie standing beside me, with his hands in his pockets.

"What are you doing here?" I question, my tone coming out a tad harsher than I intended. 

"Wasn't this the plan?" He replies, confused and for good reason. Then, suddenly, he seems to notice the tears falling down my face and his confusion turns to concern. "Hey, what happened?"

"It's nothing..." I lie, attempting to wave off my emotions. 

"Come on, Bella. You can trust me, remember?" 

"It's just... My dad. He sent my mom a letter saying he wanted to meet up and spend some time together." I explain, trying not to let it get to me even more. 

"Oh... You've, uh, never talked about your dad before." He responds, taking a seat in the sand with me.

"Yeah. My dad... left us when I was about three. So, I don't have a lot of memories with him. I have a really random memory of us going to this pizza place and going over to a claw machine. He plays it and gets me a stuffed animal. It's stupid. Probably not even real. Just one of those things you think is a memory, but turns out to be a dream you had."

"Sorry. Getting off track. Basically, I just know he left. For years, I kept wishing he'd come back. After awhile, I gave up on that dream and just turned to being angry at him. I couldn't understand how someone could just leave their family like that. I hated him and, at some point, it turned to me hating myself. Well, I mean, hate's a strong word. More so I blamed myself."

"Why?" He implores, delicately. 

"My parents were together for years before they had me. If my dad was unhappy with my mom, why wait to leave until after three years of raising me together? My mom must not have been the one he was unhappy with." 

"Bella, you are not to blame. You were a kid. You did nothing wrong." He tells me, draping his hand over my hand.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better." I counter, rolling my eyes.

"I'm saying it because I believe it. There's no way you couldn't have made him happy. You're smart, talented, beautiful..."

"Y-you think I'm beautiful?" I ask, softly.

"Oh. Uh, well... Yeah." He stammers, moving away his hand. "In, like, an objective way. Not an I'm into you way. Cause that'd be weird since, you know, you and Luke are kind of a thing." 

He keeps rambling, adding a "Wait. But not to say you're an object," and I just wave it off. I'd rather just take the compliment and not unpack all of what he just said. 

"Thanks for letting me rant to you." I say, with a small smile. 

"No problem. Obviously, we're in different situations, but I get where you're coming from."

There's silence for a moment, as we just sit and enjoy each others company. I don't know about Reggie but I, definitely, needed this. 

"So, um, you ready for mission get Cindy to stop liking Alex without outing him in the process?" I ask, wiping away my tears. 

"We need to work on that name, but yeah."


	8. Trust

"Hey, Cinds." 

"Bella! Steph and Niki invited us out. You in?" She replies, as I sit in the kitchen holding my home phone. 

"Out where?" I implore, getting a little excited.

"The Galaxy Roller Rink?" She says, hope laced in her tone. 

"Uh, sure. I just gotta grab a jacket." I tell her, grinning at the chance to have some fun with a few friends. I, definitely, need it.

"Perfect. Do you need me to pick you up?"

"No. My mom just got back from work, so the car's free. Thanks, anyway." I say, licking my lips. 

"Cool. See you in a bit!" 

"Bye." I say, hanging up and walking into my mom's home office. "Hey, Mamma. Steph and Niki invited Cinds and I to go roller skating with them."

"Great. Have fun!" She tells me, keeping her eyes on her work.

"Thanks..." I mumble, going up to my room. I look in my closet, searching through my jackets for my denim one. It's my favorite.

"Where is it?" I ask myself aloud, rolling my eyes. "I don't have that many jackets..."

I'm digging through my closet and soon my whole room, before it hits me. I was wearing it at the studio when we rehearsed Friday. I remember taking it off cause I got hot, but I must not have remembered to take it with me when we left...

"Guess, I'll just have to make one quick stop there. I'm sure Mrs. Cassidy won't mind too much." I convince myself, grabbing my bag and walking to the car. Sighing, I start the car and drive to her house. "In your starlight..." I hum, before stopping myself and turning on the radio to listen to for the rest of the short ride there.

"Isabella, what a surprise!" Mrs. Cassidy exclaims, sitting on her porch similar to the day we first met. 

"Yeah. Uh, I left my jacket here, on Friday. Is it okay if I just grab it real quick?" I explain, tilting my head to the side. 

"Sure thing. It's already open." She says, shrugging and taking a sip from her cup. 

"Open? But... Aren't you worried about someone stealing from you or something?" I respond, brows raised. 

"No. I have good security there." She answers, winking. I look at her, questionably, before walking through the gate to get to the studio. When I reach it, I can't help but notice the door's not only open but the lights are all on.

Maybe Mr. Cassidy's there?

Deciding I don't want to spook the person currently residing in the studio, I knock on the slightly ajar door. 

"Um, come in?" A voice immediately recognizable to me says. 

"W-what are you doing here?" I question the boy, stepping inside. "What are all of you doing here?" I add, noticing Alex and Reggie sat with Luke. They all share a look with each other, working out what to say. 

"Uh, r-rehearsing?" Luke says, but it comes out as more of a question. 

"For one, your instruments are packed up. Secondly, isn't it a little late for that? I'm sure the Cassidy's, their neighbors too, wouldn't appreciate that." I debunk his statement, crossing my arms.

"Those are two very good points, Isabella..." He trails off, glancing at the other two boys fro some help. "Maybe we should just tell her. I mean, she already hates us. She can't think any worse of us." He attempts to whisper, unsuccessfully.

"You don't know that. What if she tells everyone at school? You might not care about her spilling your situation, but I care about her spilling mine." Alex "whispers" back.

"I can hear you, you know!" I speak up, scowling. "So, you might as well just tell me. Also, I don't hate you. I'm just upset is all."

Luke shoves Alex, likely blaming me hearing them on Alex, despite the fact they're both equally terrible at whispering. Alex just sends a glare his way, in return, while Reggie speaks up. 

"So, who's going first?"

"Nobody, Reggie. We aren't talking." Alex tells him, shaking his head. 

"But, then she might forgive Luke, if she knows the truth?" He suggests, looking between both boys for a sign of a possible change of heart. I watch their interaction, confused. I still don't see what Reggie thinks will make me forgive Luke for leaving the cafe...

"D-do I have to? This whole thing doesn't really involve me." Alex implores, looking at Reggie with pleading eyes. 

"If you don't feel comfortable with it, we aren't going to force you." Reggie tells him, softly. 

"I'm so confused." I announce, frowning. 

"Okay... Um, do you want to know why I left Friday?" Luke asks, scratching the back of his head. 

"Since you're building up all this suspense, sure."

"Great. Well, you see I was kind of running from some people." He explains, licking his lips. 

"What, like gang members?" I respond, raising my eyebrows at him. 

"Huh? N-no! It... was my parents. I, um, ran out on them back in December after I had this huge fight with my mom. They weren't exactly happy with me chasing after my dreams. They think I should go to college and get a more stable career."

"Wait. So, do you... live here?" I say, hesitantly. 

"Yeah. I-I hate that I just left, but I couldn't handle it. Constantly having to fight her on it. Sometimes I think of just going back, but... I don't even know if they'd want me back." He confesses, a glassy look in his eyes. I decide to give him a break from all the questions. 

"And do you two live here too?" I ask the other two boys. 

"I don't. I just like hangin' with the guys. Plus, it means I don't have to listen to my parents' constant fighting." Reggie answers, nonchalantly. It's a tad bit concerning how calm he is.

"I...didn't know. They always seemed so happy." I say, thinking back to the times I'd seen them together.

"Gotta keep up appearances, I guess."

I nod, as Reggie turns to face Alex. There's silence as we wait to see if he's going to open up. I can almost see the internal struggle he's clearly having. 

"Um, you don't have to tell me your story, if you don't want. I understand we haven't really known each other for that long yet."

"I-it's okay. I don't exactly know why, but I feel like I can trust you."

I smile, sitting down with the guys. I hadn't even realized I'd been standing the whole time. 

"I always had a pretty great relationship with my parents. They set expectations for me, but I was always pretty good at meeting them and making them happy. And I was a pretty happy kid. You know, I wasn't always such an anxious person. I kind of became this way, once I...realized something about myself? I mean, I think I always knew, but I just brushed it off. I knew my parents would hate me, if they knew, so I just ignored it. Until I couldn't anymore. It took a lot of time for me to even tell anybody but, once I did, it helped me a lot." He explains, teary eyed. He looks at Luke and Reggie, and I can tell they must have really been there for him through whatever he was going through. 

"They were the ones who helped me realize how hard keeping it from the people I cared about was. I had been so scared, but they were really great. So, I made the decision to finally talk to my family about it. I told my little sister first and, at first, I didn't even think she'd heard me. She was super chill about it. Then, about a month after that, I had a conversation with my parents." He says, pausing. It's clear this is the hardest part for him to relive. Scooting a little closer, I wrap my arm around him, and he smiles. 

"They, uh, got super mad. There was a lot of yelling and it was just a lot. My dad... called me a disappointment and told me I wasn't welcome there anymore. At that point, I didn't even know if I wanted to be there anymore either. So, I packed a bag and went to the studio, where Mrs. Cassidy said I could stay."

"Wuh...What kind of father says something like that to their child?" I respond, my eyes getting a little watery. 

"A really religious one." He tells me, picking at the dead pieces of skin below his nails. I wrack my brain for what reason a really religious father might have to get that upset and, before I have the chance to come up with anything, he speaks. "I...I'm gay." 

I go through his story in my head, and it all seems to click. Why he found it so hard to tell people. Why keeping it to himself gave him so much anxiety. And why his religious dad kicked him out for it.

He watches me, waiting for my response. I sit, working out what to say. I want him to know that I'm going to support him no matter what and that he was right to trust me with his secret.

"I'm glad you told me, Alex. I'm happy you felt you could trust me with this, and I don't want you to think I'm going to think anything different of you. You're still the same Alex that helped me feel better about my nerves the night of our performance." I tell him, happy to see the joy in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo now you know why Luke left and Bella finally knows the boys' secrets. Were you expecting this? Let me know in the comments below and I hope you enjoyed <3


	9. Oblivious Friends and Claw Machines

"Hey, Bella." 

"Alex. Thanks for not hiding behind my locker, like the two goons did last week." I say, greeting him as I walk to my locker. 

"Yeah. I just wanted to see if you still wanted to sit with us at lunch today? I know you said you forgave Luke, now that you know why he left you at the café. We just weren't sure if that meant you still wanted to hang with us." He replies, hands in the pockets of his pink hoodie. 

"Oh. Of course, I'll still hang with you guys. I get that he was in a tough spot and even though I might need some time to think about going on another date with him, that doesn't mean I don't want to keep being friends with you three." I explain, smiling. 

"I'm glad to hear that." He says, with a sigh of relief. 

"See you at lunch?" I ask, opening my locker. 

"See you at lunch."

"Hey, guys." I say, sitting down at our table. 

"Sup, Bella." Reggie says, looking across the table at me. 

"Alex told us you were gonna sit with us again, but we thought he might've been being sarcastic." Luke tells me, as Cindy's blonde hair can be seen in the distance. 

"You never know with him." Reggie says, earning a playful shove from Alex. 

"Hey, Cinds." I greet my best friend, as she sits down beside me. 

"Bella! So, how was your weekend?" She implores, her gaze switching back and forth between Luke and I. Earlier in the morning, when she drove me to school, I'd promised we would talk about it later. I'd ending up not going roller skating Sunday night, choosing to hang out with the guys in the studio for a bit, so she was still a little out of the loop. However, this was not what I meant. I send a glare her way, and she stands down. 

"What about you boys? How was your weekend?" She questions, looking at Reggie and Alex. Her gaze lingers on Alex for a little longer, and I have to stop myself from bursting out laughing at my oblivious friend. If only she knew...

"Great. Alex and I spent some time playing video games Saturday morning. I destroyed him, of course. We had book club in the afternoon. Then, we rehearsed for awhile until Luke had to leave for his date. Once I got back from eating dinner with my family, Alex and I watched all the Star Wars movies. Luke joined in when he got back, obviously. Sunday was mainly rehearsing, but I did head home for a little bit in the morning while my family was at church. I worked on homework and studied, then went back to the garage to rehearse with the guys." Reggie responds, grinning.

"Wow. Sounds fun... Wait. You're in a book club?" She says, eating her lunch. Reggie goes to explain, but I cut him off. 

"Long story."

"Well, you must be really smart, then." Cindy comments, making eye contact with Alex who seems to be looking to me for help. 

"I guess." He replies, shrugging. 

"So, how was your weekend?" I ask her, trying to move her attention to something else. 

"It was nice, even if you did ditch me and the girls last night." She says, turning to look at me with a glare. 

"I didn't ditch you. I just..." I trail off, with a quick glance at the guys. "Got tired."

"I barely saw you outside of school all week." She retorts, pouting. 

"I promise, I'll plan something this weekend." I say, with a small smile. 

"You better." 

Later in the day, I'm walking with Cindy in the hall and she catches sight of a certain drummer. 

"Hey, Alex." She calls out, waving. Awkwardly, he waves back at her before walking to his next class.

I should probably do something about this, shouldn't I?

"Hey, Luke." I say, noticing him sat in the hall, scribbling in his notebook. "Can we talk?'

"Yeah, sure. I have free period." He answers, nodding and closing his notebook. 

"Great... See you, Cindy." 

"Bye." She says, winking and heading to class. I, also, need to make sure to fill her in on the Luke situation soon. 

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Luke implores, leaning against the wall. 

"Oh...Um." I start to speak, hesitating to finish. Even though I'm not as upset about Friday, it's still pretty awkward with him. Do I really want to, I guess, scheme with him, when there's this awkwardness in the air?

"Actually, you know what, it's nothing." I decide, shaking my head. 

"You sure?" He responds, looking almost disappointed. 

"Yeah." I tell him, nodding. "Uh, see you around." I add, turning around and walking towards study hall. 

"See ya..."

I'm halfway to my destination when I, quite literally, run into Reggie. 

"Hey." He says, chuckling as he helps me regain my balance.

"Sorry..." I reply, an idea popping into my head out of the blue. "Um, hey, are you busy?" 

"Depends. You need my help with something?" He responds, arching his brows. 

"Yes, actually, it has to do with Cindy." 

"Does it also have to do with Alex? Cause, no offense at all, but she's not very subtle." He says, with an awkward smile. 

"Exactly! Love her to death, but Cindy's not too great at keeping her cool when she likes someone. But she can't like Alex, cause he will never reciprocate. The issue is I don't want her to get her heart broken or have Alex be put in the awkward position of rejecting her, but I'm also not just going to out Alex. There has to be something I can do to help the two of them, right?" 

"For sure." He agrees, nodding. 

"So, you in to help me?" I question, hopefully. He thinks for a moment before, with a grin, saying "Of course."

Unfortunately, it's extremely difficult coming up with a plan and, before we know it, free period is over. 

"I can't believe we couldn't come up with anything." I say, sighing. 

"After rehearsal, I could always meet up with you at the beach or something." He replies, with a small smile. 

"Yeah. Maybe it'll be more inspiring..." I agree, as the warning bell rings. "Bye."

"Catch you later."

"So, can I hear about your weekend?" Cindy asks, on the way to my house after school. 

"Fine. Basically, we went to this cafe, where they had live music. It was really nice and fun. Then, he sort of ditched me. Just left with no explanation. I was super upset with him, but we talked it out Sunday. Now, things are okay."

"Why'd he leave?" She implores, stopped at a red light. 

"I...can't say. It's something personal to him. The point is you don't need to be mad at him, cause we worked it out." I tell her, shrugging. 

"Okay...If you change your mind, though, let me know. I will beat him up, if you need."

"Thanks." I say, chuckling. The light turns green, and she continues the drive to my house. Once I get there and see my mom isn't home yet, I go up to catch up on the work I got a little behind on when I was rehearsing with the band. It's not much, but I still have to start on the newer assignments too. 

A few hours pass and I go downstairs, for a homework break, only to find my mom working on dinner. I watch her for a moment, before making my presence known. There's something that feels a little off about her, but I can't quite put my finger on it. 

"Mamma, what's wrong?" I implore, furrowing my brows. 

"... Your father called. He asked about the letter."

"Did you tell him it was too late and that I don't want to see him?" I question, biting the inside of my cheek. 

"No. I told him we were still discussing it." She tells me, shaking her head. 

"What's there to discuss? He missed his chance to be apart of my life, and it's his fault."

"Bella, sweetheart... He-" She trails off, but I cut her sentence short.

"No! I'm done with him." I say, rolling my eyes as I take a seat at the table. Sighing, my mom finishes making dinner, and we eat it in silence.

"I'm going to the beach." I say, as soon as I'm done. 

"Did you finish all your homework?" She asks, but I ignore her. It's like anytime I have a good or at least decent day, my dad has to do something to ruin it. Why can't he just leave me alone like he's been doing for the past fifteen years?

Soon, I find myself sitting in the sand, crying. I hate how thinking of him always makes me cry. I wish I could stay strong and just say "Hey, he's not worth it." But I can't...

"Room for one more?"

I lift my head up from my hands and see Reggie standing beside me, with his hands in his pockets.

"What are you doing here?" I question, my tone coming out a tad harsher than I intended. 

"Wasn't this the plan?" He replies, confused and for good reason. Then, suddenly, he seems to notice the tears falling down my face and his confusion turns to concern. "Hey, what happened?"

"It's nothing..." I lie, attempting to wave off my emotions. 

"Come on, Bella. You can trust me, remember?" 

"It's just... My dad. He sent my mom a letter saying he wanted to meet up and spend some time together." I explain, trying not to let it get to me even more. 

"Oh... You've, uh, never talked about your dad before." He responds, taking a seat in the sand with me.

"Yeah. My dad... left us when I was about three. So, I don't have a lot of memories with him. I have a really random memory of us going to this pizza place and going over to a claw machine. He plays it and gets me a stuffed animal. It's stupid. Probably not even real. Just one of those things you think is a memory, but turns out to be a dream you had."

"Sorry. Getting off track. Basically, I just know he left. For years, I kept wishing he'd come back. After awhile, I gave up on that dream and just turned to being angry at him. I couldn't understand how someone could just leave their family like that. I hated him and, at some point, it turned to me hating myself. Well, I mean, hate's a strong word. More so I blamed myself."

"Why?" He implores, delicately. 

"My parents were together for years before they had me. If my dad was unhappy with my mom, why wait to leave until after three years of raising me together? My mom must not have been the one he was unhappy with." 

"Bella, you are not to blame. You were a kid. You did nothing wrong." He tells me, draping his hand over my hand.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better." I counter, rolling my eyes.

"I'm saying it because I believe it. There's no way you couldn't have made him happy. You're smart, talented, beautiful..."

"Y-you think I'm beautiful?" I ask, softly.

"Oh. Uh, well... Yeah." He stammers, moving away his hand. "In, like, an objective way. Not an I'm into you way. Cause that'd be weird since, you know, you and Luke are kind of a thing." 

He keeps rambling, adding a "Wait. But not to say you're an object," and I just wave it off. I'd rather just take the compliment and not unpack all of what he just said. 

"Thanks for letting me rant to you." I say, with a small smile. 

"No problem. Obviously, we're in different situations, but I get where you're coming from."

There's silence for a moment, as we just sit and enjoy each others company. I don't know about Reggie but I, definitely, needed this. 

"So, um, you ready for mission get Cindy to stop liking Alex without outing him in the process?" I ask, wiping away my tears. 

"We need to work on that name, but yeah."


End file.
